Healer
by Mistress-Neko
Summary: Izayoi InuYasha's mother is the healer in her village. One night, a 16yearold demon comes to her, needing her help. His father has been badly wounded, and only she is willing to treat demons. That night changes her life forever. ON HAITUS! May edit and fi
1. Night Intrusions

**[Summary]   
**Izayoi's life as the village healer, changes when a sixteen year old demon boy [Sesshoumaru] comes to her in the middle of the night, needing her help. His father is badly wounded and no one will help him. No, not a Sesshoumaru romance.  
  
**[Disclaimer]   
**I do not own any of the characters in the Inu-Yasha series. But I can dream, can't I?  
  
**[A/N]  
** I don't know for sure if any of this happened, these plot bunnies jumped into my head and I couldn't shake them off. Sorry! Well, I hope you like, and please, review! It feeds the plot bunnies!  
  
**Chapter One – Healer  
**  
Izayoi slept peacefully, glad that the day was over and that she could finally rest. An illness had begun to sweep through the village, and was the most devastating to the small children in the village. Only that afternoon had the last child been cured. Ten if the children that had gotten the sickness had died, and five of the adults. Luckily, that had been all and the rest of the people were well on their way to being fully recovered.  
  
Izayoi was only seventeen, and was probably the oldest girl in the village that hadn't married yet. Her father had died a few years ago, and her mother had died giving birth to her. Her brother was already married, but lived in another village with his wife and children.  
  
However, men in the village thought her strange in some ways. She was one of the only women that could read and write, aside from the village's princesses. Her father had been the village healer before her and people were surprised when he had asked the miko in a nearby village to train her to be a good archer, so that she could defend herself.  
  
A sudden noise interrupted her dreams and she sat up sleepily, wondering what was going on for someone to be knocking at her door at such an hour. Yawning, Izayoi tied the waist of her kimono and walked to the door. Her surprise was complete when she opened the door.  
  
He looked no older than sixteen, but he was taller than anyone that she had ever seen. His clothes were torn and dirty, his chest raising and falling rapidly as if he had been running. His silvery hair hung to his slim waist and was disheveled from the long run he had evidently experienced. His eyes were a bright gold and two dark colored strips marred his otherwise flawless skin on either side of his face. His chest was covered in deep claw marks, as of he had been fighting and there was a long length of light grey fur that ran over one shoulder. The hand that he extended had fingers that ended in delicate looking claws.  
  
"Can you treat wounds?" His voice was emotionless, but his eyes were not. They showed worry, but for whom, she didn't know. Izayoi nodded slowly, not knowing what else to do. "Then come with me."  
  
With those words, he turned around and she noted the deep claw marks on his back. Brow furrowed, she crossed her arms over her chest, not moving from where she was.  
  
"Why should I help you? I do not even know your name."  
  
When the young man turned around, she stepped back a pace, her eyes widening ever-so-slightly. The whites of his eyes glowed red in the silvery moonlight and the once golden pupils were a pale green. He growled softly, baring teeth with dainty fangs.  
  
"My name is Sesshoumaru, and my father needs your help, wench." He said with a snarl, coming at her quickly. Unafraid, she stood her ground. "He is wounded and dying. You would do better than to deny the Lord of the Western Lands, bitch."  
  
"Then at least allow me ample time to get my things, milord Sesshoumaru, and I will be right with you."  
  
Izayoi ran quickly into the house and gathered the right herbs and vials, along with an ample amount of bandages. Just as quickly, she ran outside, where the sixteen-year-old was waiting for her.  
  
"Get on my back. We'll get there faster."  
  
Izayoi raised her eyebrows, tucking a length of her black hair behind her ear. "You're wounded."  
  
He glared at her. "Get on my back, wench. We don't have that much time before my father dies. He was wounded far worse than I was. I'll live, and it's possible that he won't."  
  
"Fine, but I do have a name, and its Izayoi, you hear me? IZ-AY-OI!!"  
  
He growled, but made no further comments as she climbed onto his back and hooking her arms onto his shoulders. Soon, the two were on their way, to wherever the Lord of the Western Lands lay injured.  
  
**  
**  
**[A/N]  
** I hope that people like this one ... I got the idea and wanted to see what people think. It's actually a romance between Inu-Yasha's father and mother, so, yeah. Please review! 


	2. Lord Inutaisho I

**[A/N]  
**I know that the last chapter was rather short, but hopefully this one will be longer. Mkay?  
  
**Chapter Two – Healer  
**  
"What is your father's name, Lord Sesshoumaru?" Izayoi asked as she walked behind him, careful to follow exactly where he was leading her. He had been silent for the entire, well, flight, there. This actually didn't surprise her once her still sleep-hazed brain registered that he was a youkai. He had also spent most of the time ignoring her questions as though she was nothing more than an ignorant ninque.  
  
Once again, Sesshoumaru ignored her.  
  
All he wanted to do was to get back to his father, with the healer that he had promised to bring. The wounds that the Lord had sustained had needed the attention of a healer, since they were too deep and too serious to be tended by the hand of the stubborn inu youkai himself. He had collapsed shortly after the battle, having had taken the most grievous of the wounds.  
  
"What is your father's name, milord?" Izayoi asked again, beginning to get impatient with the stubborn, emotionless, wounded, angry, adolescent, inu youkai. "It would be easier if I knew his name."  
  
"Fine!" He snarled at her, turning around and glaring at her through those golden eyes before answering curtly. "His name is Lord Inutaisho."  
  
Her violet eyes widened slightly at that. The real Lord Inutaisho? She thought. I thought he was only kidding, but I guess that he isn't. With that she quickened her pace, not wanting to fall behind.  
  
**  
**  
After a few more minutes of walking, they came to the large clearing that Sesshoumaru had described earlier. There were around ten other demons, all of them having the same length of fur somewhere on their bodies, and the dark coloured streaks on their cheeks. Most of them were injured, but nearly as badly as the one in the centre of the clearing.  
  
His long silvery hair, like that of his son, was pulled into a high ponytail that was pooled besides his head. When she walked into the clearing, it seemed as if everyone's eyes had turned to her. The other demons began whispering as she followed Sesshoumaru to where their leader lay horrendously injured.  
  
Quietly, the adolescent youkai knelt besides the unconscious Lord, lightly touching his cheek. His voice, unlike whenever he had spoken to her, was soft, and seemingly gentle.  
  
"Father, are you awake?" The Lord seemed to stir, opening his eyes slightly. Beneath those lids were orbs of the same brilliant gold as those of the 16-year-old that knelt at his side. He nodded, grimacing in apparent pain. "I brought the healer, from a village. I had to travel far, since no other ninque healer would come to the aid of a demon. She's the only one that would come. Even if it is a female, it's better than nothing."  
  
Izayoi scowled as she looked at the two demons. She was not as weak as he said that she was! She was actually considered a better healer than her father was, since she had received additional healers' training from that miko. When the golden eyes of the Western Lord settled upon her, he gave a small smile, chuckling weakly before grimacing in pain.  
  
"It looks as if you found a stubborn healer." Lord Inutaisho's voice was hoarse, and Izayoi could hear the pain within is trying-to-be-light-and- failing tones. His breathed quickened suddenly, and the young ninque healer surprised Sesshoumaru by pushing him hurriedly out of the way and kneeling next to the wounded lord. The 16-year-old glared at her as he ended up in an ungraceful heap besides her.  
  
Setting her jaw, Izayoi pulled out a small vile of a clear liquid and slipped the contents into one of the bowls of freshwater that were nearby. Blushing slightly as she noticed the golden eyes that were watching her, she held the bowl to Inutaisho's lips and bid him to drink.  
  
"It'll be better than to be awake while I tend these wounds." Her voice was soft and slightly soothing to the stubborn inu youkai. "Don't worry, all it will do is let you fall asleep while I tend these wounds. You won't feel a thing," she smiled at him, "I promise."  
  
Eyeing her wearily, he drank reluctantly from the bowl, allowing her to help him sit up slightly. When she had let him back down, his eyes were already drooping and he was asleep quickly. Smiling slightly, she began to rub other healing herbs into the deep abrasions that had been dealt to him during the fight, or, however it was that he had come by these wounds. It took her a long time, but after a few hours, she had finished binding and cleaning each of the wounds carefully and completely.  
  
Sighing, exhausted, she looked around to find that most of the other inu youkai had already settled down to get some sleep. Simple huts had been erected, including one over her head that she hadn't even noticed. The only one awake was Lord Sesshoumaru and he was sitting next to her, looking his father over. At that moment, the Lord Inutaisho was still in the deep sleep brought on by the herbs and water that she had given him earlier.  
  
"Has anyone tended to your wounds, Lord Sesshoumaru?" She asked quietly, turning her violet eyes on him and looking at the many wounds that yet decorated his chest. He turned gold eyes on her in surprise. He hadn't really even noticed that she was there after a while – she had been silent the entire time that she had been providing the Lord's care.  
  
"No." He answered softly, but looked at her in suspicion as she frowned slightly at him, shaking her head. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Because Lord Inutaisho is not the only one here that has been wounded." She said, a slightly note of sternness in her soft voice. "And you are also the only one that is still awake besides me. Let me tend your wounds, which will also prevent infection from spreading to the wounds."  
  
He scowled, but did not say a word as he turned, exposing his backside to her. As gently as she could, she cleaned out the wounds with a fresh bowl of water, mixed with a specially healing herb. He hissed softly in pain every time she wiped the wounds, but was silent the rest of the time. Sesshoumaru did the same thing as she treated the wounds on his chest and arms.  
  
"There you go, milord." She said with a small smile as she finished with the last bandage. "Now, I suggest that you rest and try and gather some strength. It'll also help you to heal faster."  
  
He said something softly under his breath as he began to walk out of the hut, but he stopped at the door and turned around. "There is a mat in the corner of the hut. It was set up for you and you may use it to rest. All ninque need there rest, as do you, so I suggest that you use it."  
  
Izayoi scowled slightly after he had left, but moved to the corner where there had indeed been a blanket and a mat set aside for her use. After carefully tucking away her medicinal herbs and vials, not to mention the bandages, she settled into the little mat, and allowed sleep to claim her senses. It had been a long and exhausting night, and she would need the rest to get back to her village in the morning.  
  
**  
  
[A/N]  
**How do you people like this so far? I hope you do, even though there are a lot of short chapters. - Don't worry though, they'll get longer after a while. After all, it is summer vacation! TTFN


	3. Conversation

**[A/N]  
** I hope that everyone likes this next chapter. I worked really hard on it! Please review!  
  
**Chapter Three – Healer  
**  
Izayoi awoke with the sun shining in her eyes. She sat up quickly, looking around the unfamiliar tent that she had fallen asleep in late last night. After a few seconds she realized that it was noon the next day and that her charge had already left the tent. She got up and walked out of the tent, scowling slightly as she went to look for him.  
  
When she exited the tent, she saw that many of the inu youkai were bustling around the hastily prepared camp, making food and helping the others. A few of the men were sitting with their mates, who had apparently come out searching for the camp so that they would be able to see if their husbands were safe. A few females were sitting alone and sad, one of them large with child as she whined softly at the side of her mate's body, holding his cold hand in her small one. Izayoi felt sympathy for her as she walked by.  
  
As she approached the edges of the camp, she frowned. Lord Inutaisho hadn't been anywhere and she was getting frustrated with her attempts to find him in the immediate area. Sighing softly, she walked out into the woods that surrounded the campsite.  
  
In these woods, the trees grew tall and proud, their leaves already turning brilliant shades of red, orange and gold as the fall season set in. As she got closer to the edges of the forest, she heard voices talking on the other side. She recognized the voices of both Lord Inutaisho and Lord Sesshoumaru. When she got to the edges of the woods, she hid in the bushed, listening carefully to the conversation.  
  
"Are you feeling well, father?" Sesshoumaru asked, turning to the Lord. Izayoi looked at him, a slight blush on her face.  
  
His long, silvery white hair was longer than Sesshoumaru's, but was tied back in a high ponytail. He had the same, brilliant golden eyes as his son, as well as the crescent moon marking on his forehead and the two marks on each side of his face. He was much taller than the young lordling, she could tell, even if he was sitting at the edge of the cliff. He hadn't replaced the armor that she had had to remove from his body the night before. She blushed as she remembered the lean, taut muscles of his torso and arms. He wore a kimono of white with small red designs along the edging and white pants (don't know what they're called). Over the white kimono he wore a haori of a bright red color. Izayoi could've sworn that she had seen that color before, she just couldn't remember where. Over both shoulder there was a thick line of floor that, if he stood, would've flowed all the way to the ground. Izayoi recognized it as the mark if an inu youkai.  
  
"I'm feeling fine, thank you, my son." He smiled slightly, closing his eyes and enjoying the sweet wind on his face. It seemed like so long since they had been without battle. "And though these wounds will be long in healing, they are nothing more than an ache, pretty much without any pain."  
  
"I'm glad that this healer is competent at least, father." The adolescent said quietly, sighing. "For a ninque."  
  
Inutaisho frowned slightly at his son. "She is probably better than any of the youkai healers that I have encountered. She knows her stuff, this one. What did you say her name was, Sesshoumaru?"  
  
Izayoi smiled slightly at the frown that had crossed the younger youkai's face. She knew that he would be able to answer that question well. "I think her name is Izayoi. She was the only healer that I found willing to come to the aid of a youkai. She also had an attitude problem." He muttered softly under his breath, but not soft enough to hide from the sharp ears of his inu father.  
  
"And how is it that she has such a problem?" He asked quietly, turning curious gold eyes onto his son. Sesshoumaru blushed slightly, unable to meet his father's gaze. "You called her by those names, didn't you?"  
  
"Yes, what of it?" He crossed his arms over the white and red haori that he wore. "She got angry and started yelling her name at me, telling me not to call her such."  
  
Inutaisho smiled slightly, picturing his son being scolded by the young ninque woman that had tended his wounds the night previous. A chuckle escaped his lips as he saw the adolescent being yelled at by someone so much smaller than he was.  
  
"How many did we lose during the battle?" He asked quietly, rubbing his sore shoulder with a grimace. "I noticed that a few of the women and children were pining for their mates and fathers."  
  
"Only a few, but their loss is regrettable." Sesshoumaru sighed as his own thoughts turned to the sobbing bitch who had clung desperately to her diseased body, her belly thick with the pup that was to be born any time now. "More than one whelp will be left without a father."  
  
The Lord sighed. He too remembered how the poor woman would fare. The inu youkai mated for life and love. His own mate had died sixteen years earlier, during the birth of their son. "We'll have to find another male that would be willing to care for her until she recovers from the loss. You can begin searching."  
  
Sesshoumaru nodded and walked off through the trees in the direction of camp. He would begin the task immediately – the sooner that he had this over with the better. Inutaisho watched his son leave before closing his eyes and speaking quietly.  
  
"You can come out now, Izayoi . . ."   
  
**  
  
[A/N]**  
How am I doing? Please tell me, I don't want to make a huge mistake or anything! Reviews are very much appreciated!


	4. Fiery Temper For a Human

**[A/N]  
** Well people, I hope that you have been enjoying these short chapters so far. If I'm getting any details wrong, please let me know. BTW, from what I have seen, Inu-Yasha's parents are called Izayoi and Inutaisho. If they're something else, I'll still be using these, 'cause it's what I'm used to.  
  
**Chapter Four – Healer  
**  
"Izayoi, you can come out now."  
  
Blushing furiously, the young woman crawled out from where she was sitting in the bushes. The inu youkai lord was smiling slightly as he listened to her moving quietly through the grass until she was close to him, standing at his back. The trees behind them enveloped the small grove in a cool shade that was a relief in the hot summer air.  
  
"Is there a reason that you were listening to our conversation from the bushes?" His voice was soft as he turned his head to look into her violet eyes (that's were Inu-Yasha's human eyes come from...). "You don't seem to be the type that would be hired as a spy for the cat youkai."  
  
Izayoi frowned at the Inu Lord. **Never** would she have spied for another lord! She was loyal only to the west!  
  
"My lord! I only thought to find you and replace the bandages that are on your wounds!" Her cheeks had turned a pale red and she was getting angry. She came here to care for her lord as she had been brought here to do, not talk to the lord about whither or not she was a spy. "I would never think of doing such a thing! Especially when your son tries to break down my door in the middle of the night, calling me inappropriate names and yelling at me to come somewhere for a reason that I could've cared less about! I hadn't been to sleep for days after an illness swept through my village! It was the first time that I had had a chance for sleep for the first time in longer than I can immediately remember! The last thing on my mind at that moment was coming out into the middle of nowhere to heal the wounds that were sustained in some senseless battle! So I suggest, my lord that you think about what you are saying before you are saying it. Watch your tongue!"  
  
By the time that she was finished talking, he was looking at her, golden eyes wide with surprise as he looked at her. Her face was red and her eyes, if she hadn't been a ninque, would've threatened to turn the same shade of her cheeks. She appeared to have the temper of a female when she was carrying a pup.  
  
Very short.  
  
Inutaisho had never expected this woman to neither yell at him, nor lecture him as if her were a spoiled child. His was the lord of the Western Lands, not some peasant child! As he thought about what she had said, a frown slowly appeared across his face and he didn't like what he had been hearing.  
  
"I had only been kidding, Healer Izayoi." He said his voice soft – dangerously so. "I knew not that you hadn't had much sleep, or that you had had a terrible illness in your village. These wounds" – he pulled off his kimono and haori, indicating the bandages that decorated his arms and entire torso – "were sustained in an attack on the homes of my people! Though few of those number were taken from our grasp, there are pups without their fathers and bitches without their mates. One of them is only days from birthing the couple's first pup and her mate is not here to support her through the occasion! Sesshoumaru went looking for a healer on his own, all I wanted was a few bandages and a few glasses of sake. My wounds are not something that I normally worry about. Its whither or not my people have died that I worry about!"  
  
His heated words made her think, but she did not step down. She refused to step down. "Just as well, why are there any healers that are of youkai descent?"  
  
Inutaisho stopped. That was a good question on her part. Why weren't there any youkai healers? He sighed, turning back to where the sun was slowly starting to set. "I don't know."  
  
Izayoi sighed and looked at him, seeing the sadness in his eyes as she got closer, standing behind him and looking in the same direction that he was looking. In the east, the sky was slowly beginning to turn a deep, dark blue and the colors turned the sky into a mirage a color. The golden hue of the sun glowed with the same hue as the Lord Inutaisho's eyes and Izayoi blushed slightly when she realized the comparison that she had made in her mind. The brilliant shades of orange and crimson made her smile. She hadn't stopped to watch the sunset since her father had died. He had always watched it with her, talking to her about how her mother had done the same with him.  
  
That was how they had fallen in love, watching the sunset with each other.  
  
She sighed softly as she remembered his stories. They had seemed like fantasy to her, but she had known that they were real. Her brother had told her so, having heard the stories from their mother when he was a young child – before she was born. Izayoi knew a lot about her mother from her father, but had always hoped to meet her. Since she knew that would never happen, she had settled to listening to stories about her from her father and brother.  
  
Apparently, the woman had been well educated, knowing well how to read and write in many styles. She had been a peasant, but Izayoi's father had changed all that by marrying her. Her brother took care of the village business from the village that he lived in – Izayoi only lived in the house as the village healer.  
  
Inutaisho looked at the young woman standing next to him as she kept her eyes on the sunset. It was curious how she had stood up for herself and hadn't been afraid of consequences when she had started to tell him off – or when telling Sesshoumaru off the night previous for that matter, as he was the one who would deal out regular punishments for the bitches in their clan for arguing against the way he normally treated one of the female species.  
  
Those piercing eyes were a rare hue of a dark violet and they peered out of a face that looked that it belonged to a noble (he doesn't really know who she is quite yet). Her skin was pale and flawless, but only appeared paler against the inky black locks of her hair. Her dark-colored kimono fit well against her lithe body and the sash was tied tightly about a slender waist.  
  
Izayoi looked at him, feeling the intense look of those golden orbs. She smiled slightly when he blushed lightly and looked back at the sunset. Both of them remained silent for a while, content on watching the sun setting in the east. The east was beginning to get dark and she reluctantly turned back to her charge. Sighing, she began to speak quietly.  
  
"We probably should be heading back to camp." Inutaisho turned golden eyes on her curiously, scrutinizing her closely. "People will be heading to go to sleep and I should probably be changing your bandages."  
  
Without warning, he muttered something along the lines of "ow" and smacked at something in his chest. To Izayoi's surprise, a small, flattened flea floated down to land on the lord's hands. She crouched down besides him as a look of annoyance flittered across his face and he looked down at the currently bowing flea.  
  
"Myouga . . ."  
  
****  
  
**[A/N]  
** I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I was grounded from the computer for a while and had to read fan fiction in my computer TV. Sad, isn't it? 


	5. Tensaiga I

**Chapter Five – Healer  
**  
"Myouga . . ."  
  
Inutaisho looked down at the tiny flea on his hand with a look of annoyance. He hadn't seen the thing since before the battle had started. Of course, as usual, he had probably gone looking for somewhere safe to stay until it was over. The flea bowed again, looking up at the Lord with his huge, bug eyes. Izayoi looked at the thing with a slight look of interest, having never before have seen such a flea serving a lord before.  
  
The little bug wore a dark green tunic with four sleeves for each of his arms. His pants were a dark blue that was made of a rough material. On his back was a hump of a brightly colored turquoise material. He appeared to have traveled a long way.  
  
"Greetings and salutations! My Lord, I have been looking for you ever since last night. When I returned to the battlefield, you and your clan of inu youkai were gone. I feared for the worst when I saw the dead."  
  
The flea bowed again, looking up at the lord from this prone position. The Lord's scowl only deepened as he squished the bug between his fingers, letting him fall to the ground, flattened. Izayoi knelt down in the grass besides were the little thing had landed, looking to see if he was alright. When the flea looked up at her, she saw color creep into his tiny cheeks.  
  
"Lord Inutaisho, where did you find this beauty?" He looked at the lord expectantly, jumping up and down in Izayoi's hand. "And a ninque at that also. Surely such beauty is rare among humans."  
  
Izayoi blushed, handing the bouncing black dot over to the inu youkai who was currently scowling at it with a faint hint of pink across his pale cheeks. "She's the healer that Sesshoumaru brought to the camp last night to take care of my wounds." He snorted derisively, shaking thoughts out of his mind. _How can he think that I would go looking for some ninque woman? No, I do not think that the youkai should be taking advantage of them, but that does not mean that I go looking for them._ "Apparently my wounds were too serious for my normal sake treatment."  
  
Izayoi chuckled as she remembered what he had told her moments ago. _Well, I guess he really doesn't like being treated by healers . . . or there probably aren't very many._ Ignoring the glare coming from Inutaisho, she continued listening to what the little bouncing black dot on the Lord's palm was saying to the inu youkai. He watched it with a semi-serious, semi- bored expression. Stars were already beginning to appear in the darkened sky.  
  
"The cats have disappeared from the lands, my Lord." The flea bowed again, looking up at his lord sheepishly. Inutaisho rolled his eyes. _That could've been some of the first news that he could've told me._ A bright expression appeared on Myouga's face as he started jumping up and down in excitement. "And there is other news! It concerns the fang that you gave to the Toutousai! The Tensaiga! He says that it's finished!"  
  
A relieved smile spread across the inu Lord's face as he took in the last bit of news. That sword would be able to solve the problem of what had happened to that woman's mate, and the other inu youkai in their clan, and those that had been killed. He could finally revive them and give them back to their families, whole and healthy.  
  
Izayoi looked at him curiously, wondering about what they were talking about. She had never before heard of this 'Toutousai' and giving someone your own fang. That was probably one of the strangest things that she had ever heard. And he had seemed so relieved by it too . . . it was strange.  
  
With a start, the young healer realized that Inutaisho had already stood and was beginning to limp slowly towards camp. Scowling faintly, she stood and followed after him – determined to finish the task she had set out to complete several hours earlier.  
  
And to find out what this Tensaiga is . . .  
  
****  
  
As they sat down in the tent, Inutaisho scowled at the woman sitting across from him, eating quietly with her chopsticks. The other youkai hadn't bothered to raise another tent for the ninque to sleep in and had explained that they thought that incase anything happened and his wound became infected, she would be right there to help and take care of it.  
  
They had explained while bringing the inu youkai lord a dinner with rice and a variety of freshly caught and cooked meats. A few sauces had been made. Inutaisho had insisted that the others eat before him, and that a larger portion reserved for the pregnant bitch of the clan.  
  
Izayoi looked up from her meal to see that Inutaisho was still glaring at her. She scowled back, her eyes darkened to an almost black shade. To her surprise, she saw that a small tinge of light pink had crossed his pale cheeks and he looked back down at his meal. He had been quiet ever since the youkai serving their meal had left – that alone seemed strange for the lord of the inu youkai.  
  
"My Lord Inutaisho, I am surprised that the Lord Sesshoumaru isn't here and eating with us." She said softly, taking another bite of the roasted venison. It was delicious. "This seems to be something that he would enjoy and I would prefer to clean his wounds again before the night is done."  
  
"I have sent him on an errand." He said quietly, keeping those golden eyes on his food. "I have sent him to fetch the Tensaiga."  
  
Her curiosity peaked. _Why is this object so important to him? Why does he need it so quickly?_ "If you don't mind, milord, may I ask what the Tensaiga is? I understand that it was made from your fang, but other than that, I don't know that it is, or what this Toutousai has to do with it."  
  
Inutaisho sighed. He had thought that this question would come up sooner or later, especially from her. Finishing the last bite of his meal, he set his chopsticks down and easing back from his kneeling position on the cushions, leaning back against the wall. She watched as he removed his high ponytail to settle his head more comfortably against the wall.  
  
"Toutousai is the maker of demon swords. However, he only makes swords for demons that he takes a liking too, and that pay well for the sword they want made. He makes the swords from the fangs of the demon. I had given him one of mine a few days ago to have a sword made. A special sword. Toutousai thought that I was crazy when I requested the sword."  
  
Izayoi kneeled next to the lord, settling her bag of medicinal supplies next to her. Sighing, he stripped off his haori and under-kimono without question, knowing that she wanted to replace the bandages covering his wounds. After carefully removing the old bandages, she indicated for him to continue his story. Sighing softly, he continued speaking.  
  
"The Tensaiga is a healing sword." At the curious look that was sent over his shoulder, Inutaisho explained. "It is a sword that will kill the death demons that hover around someone when they are injured. It will also bring back the dead. If used to its full potential, it will heal one hundred people in a single stroke. Because of the fights and wars with the cat youkai, and all of the people that have died in these battles, I thought that it would be useful." His voice softened slightly as he continued to speak. "After all, many pups have lost their fathers and many women have lost their mates. I don't want anymore families to be separated by more deaths. Our numbers have decreased enough already."  
  
_That's why he's wanted that sword made._ Izayoi sighed softly as she cleaned the wounds, being as gentle as she could._ I thought that Lord Inutaisho would be nothing more than a ruthless leader, but now I can see that he probably cares for the safety of his people.  
_  
Silence was complete as she continued cleaning the wounds. After a few minutes, she noticed that his ears flicked slightly upwards, and a few minutes later, Sesshoumaru entered the tent, carrying a sword in his hands.  
  
"I have brought the Tensaiga, Father, like you requested."  
  
**  
  
[A/N]  
**I hope that you people have enjoyed this chapter. Its probably the longest one I've written. So far. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. I was on vacation from the 3rd to the 10th and I haven't been allowed in the computer enough to update since we got home. Anyway, please review!


	6. Tensaiga II

**Chapter Six – Healer**  
  
Inutaisho took the sheathed sword from his son's hands, strapping it to his waist and not even bothering to replace his kimono or haori. There were bandages wrapped securely around the wounds that covered his thickly muscled upper body.  
  
They were surprised that he didn't exactly look smaller without all of the bone armor that he normally wore. He stood a head taller than the tallest of them, at the very least. There was a reason that he was their lord. Inu youkai had gathered around the entrance to his tent, looking at him with curious eyes. He already had a sword, so why did he need another one? The one that he had was extremely powerful, so he had no use for another one.  
  
The crowd of dog demons parted like water as the lord walked through their midst. Sesshoumaru followed his father almost like it was automatic, and Izayoi followed them, however hesitantly as she looked around at the inu youkai that were staring at her and the two lords. She continued moving on though, hoping that the low light of the campfires hid the flaming red of her face.  
  
The bitch that had lost her husband so close to the birth of their first pup looked up when Inutaisho stopped in front of the tent that had been set up for her by other males of the clan. The body of her mate was inside, awaiting the cremation that was to take place that night. She closed her surprised eyes and bowed slightly before struggling to her feet. Her eyes were red from tears and she was ashamed that her lord had found her in such a state. She looked down at her feet, not wanting to meet those piercing gold eyes.  
  
Izayoi looked closely at the woman. Her eyes were the color of the full moon, her skin nearly as pale. Her hair was a dark red that matched the over-large kimono that she was wearing over a white one. Her hands were shaking visibly.  
  
"I'm sorry my lord, I wasn't expecting for you to come over here." Shaking slightly, she wiped her hand across her eyes. "If I had known that you were coming, I would've prepared a meal, or something –"  
  
Inutaisho stopped her, gesturing towards the tent. "I didn't expect you to Kilun." He used her name, being that the males only referred to the women as bitches when they were away from them, or when they were sure that they wouldn't get hurt. "I came to see your husband. Please, show me into the tent."  
  
She flinched and tears formed in the corners of her silvery eyes. "He is dead, my lord . . ."  
  
He sighed, lightly touching the hilt of Tensaiga with his hand and leaning forward. "I know that he didn't survive the fight, but there is a reason that I have come here."  
  
She swallowed thickly and bowed again to her clan leader. She slowly moved the tent flap aside, moving to the side so that Inutaisho could go inside. Sesshoumaru followed his father, being closely followed by Izayoi.  
  
In the middle of the tent lay the cold, pale body of the male that had been her mate. His long dark hair was tucked over his shoulder and all of his armor had been removed, yet it remained nearby, so that it could be burned with the body. A dagger lay across the chest of the white robe that he had been shrouded in.  
  
Izayoi looked from Inutaisho to the body and back. She was probably the only other person in the room that knew what was going on. She watched as the wife of the deceased dog demon knelt besides his body, her thinned shoulders shaking with silent sobs as she looked pleadingly up at her lord, her hand running lightly over her large belly. The young female wanted nothing more than to have hope for the future of her unborn pup.  
  
Inutaisho looked down at the shaking woman and his expression softened visibly. She noticed this and thought it strange that he was doing this. Izayoi walked forward and knelt besides the woman, placing her hand on her shoulders in a comforting gesture. The demoness looked at her in surprised, but at one looked from her lord, didn't refuse the comfort that she so desperately needed.  
  
The lord took a deep breath as he took up a readied stance, taking the newly forged sword from its sheath with a soft ring of grating metal. The blade gleamed in the soft torchlight filling the small tent. Sighing, he brought the blade through the air that was just above the prepared corpse. The inu demon's wife only sobbed harder when she saw what had happened, but her eyes widened as she saw what happened next.  
  
Color slowly found its way into the skin and face of the previously dead male and his eyes fluttered, then opened. He looked blearily around the tent, wondering where he was. Slowly, looking over himself, he sat up, the dagger that had been resting on his chest falling to the ground with an echoing ring. His mate threw herself into his arms, sobbing with joy and seeing her husband alive and well.  
  
The male demon locked his arms tightly around her, golden eyes still wide in surprise as he took in the site of his Lord, only half dressed, with sword in hand. Inutaisho's regularly hardened eyes were as gentle as he had ever seen them.  
  
"My lord," he whispered, bowing his head in respect, and moving that he was kneeling in front of his tearful wife. "Is there a reason for this? The last thing that I remember is lying on the battle field and being so helpless as the dark consumed me. What happened?"  
  
The Lord of the Western Lands sighed, looking down at one of his most loyal generals. "You were killed in the battle that took place the night before last. You were also the only one killed in battle, but not the most badly wounded. Your body was brought back here and I thought that you would remain dead, but my newly forged sword was brought to me." He turned ever- so-slightly so that he was facing the other inu youkai in the tent. He held up the shining blade. "This is the Tensaiga. It is a healing sword that also has the power to raise the dead. It is powerful enough to heal one hundred in a single stroke."  
  
The inu youkai kneeling on the floor bowed to his lord once again. "Thank you, milord, for bringing me back to my mate and coming family. I will be forever grateful to you."  
  
He gave a small nod before once again sheathing the Tensaiga and walking out of the tent, Sesshoumaru and Izayoi following him out of the tent. He had never felt such a wonderful feeling running through his heart as he had moments ago after watching Kilun embracing her husband after having thought him dead to the world.  
  
Izayoi noticed the soft light in his eyes and made a note to ask him about it later. Sesshoumaru noticed that look that the ninque healer had given his father and let it go. Even though his mother and father had been close, they had never loved each other. He had only been born to become the heir that his father needed.  
  
A few minutes later, Inutaisho walked into the tent that had been erected for him the day previous. Izayoi followed him after watching the lord's son walk away to get into his own tent. The look that had passed across his face was odd for the stoic adolescent. She had wondered what he had been thinking, but hadn't pushed it.  
  
"That was a good thing that you did for the woman." Izayoi said quietly as she continued her work on claw rivets that had reopened while he had used the sword. "And for her mate. I'm sure that it'll be much easier for her to give birth now that her mate is returned to her, safely."  
  
The youkai lord remained quiet as he listened to her. He had had a long day from everything that had happened and he just wanted to go to sleep. It seemed like it had been a long time since he had last been asleep. After a while, he fell asleep sitting up. How he managed it while she was treating him, Izayoi never knew.

**[A/N]  
**There you go people. Another chapter! Well, I hope you enjoyed this! Please review! Chapters will come up faster if you do!


	7. Going Home

**Chapter Seven – Healer**

The next morning, Izayoi awoke to the sound of the tents being taken down and people moving around the camp, finishing a breakfast meal and getting packed up and ready to leave the area. Even the women were helping to get things moving along. Curious as to what was going on, she finished placing the last of her healing things in her bag and walking out to where Inutaisho was directing the inu youkai and helping them.

He was wearing a light blue undershirt with a white haori with blue designs. The hakama pants that he wore were white with similar designs. The two lines of fur flowed over his shoulders like a large cloak. Bone armor with boney spikes covered his chest and arms, making him appear only slightly larger than he already was. Two swords, one the Tensaiga, were belted at his waist with a red obi that looked to be made of the fire of a fire rat.

"Awake now, are we?" He spoke to her without even turning his head the slightest. One of his generals walked off after having been dismissed, looking at the young healer suspiciously. "We're getting ready to leave this place. We need to get moving before the neko youkai find us and once again attack." He answered the unspoken question in her violet eyes as she stood next to him, looking into his piercing golden orbs. "If you will, I would like you to come with to attend other wounded."

Izayoi looked at him, but his eyes had already been turned back to watching over the preparations for their leaving. "Is that the only reason that you ask for me to accompany you?" She had noticed the slight blush across his cheeks.

He turned to her with a strange look on his face. "Of course. Now, would you accompany me?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'll come with you, but you must allow me to go back to my home and gather other supplies that I could possibly need."

He sighed. "I'll bring you there later on tonight. But you'd better be ready to go, or I'll just guide the rest of my pack to the new place." He turned back to what he had been doing. "Besides, we have to get there within the next night because Kilun should be having the pup either tonight or tomorrow night."

Izayoi nodded, following his gaze towards where the couple was gathering their things in order to prepare to leave for another place to camp. Her mate was helping her out as much as possible, taking most of the work for himself. He clearly looked worried about her late pregnancy and that she was still rather emotional from all that had happened.

"I'm glad that she has her mate back." Her voice was soft as she met those golden orbs. His eyes were filled with a strange light. "It'll make a lot of things easier for her to get through."

He only nodded in agreement before heading back to help the other inu youkai prepare to leave in order to defend themselves against the neko youkai more easily.  
  


Hours later, Izayoi found herself staring at the inu youkai lord, arms crossed and feet dug into the ground. She wasn't going to move. He scowled at her.

"It's the only way that we'll get their fast enough," Inutaisho ground out through gritted teeth, arms across his chest and his eyes set – determined. "So climb onto my back and we'll be going."

"No." She repeated, her violet eyes narrowing. "I hardly know you and I'm not about to go and do such a thing! Do you know how the people of my village would take it?"

He sighed and through his hands up into the air. "For the love of Kami-sama, woman!!! I said that I'd drop you a distance from your village do that people wouldn't get suspicious!"

Her scowl only deepened. "I don't believe you!"

He growled, low and in his throat, his golden eyes gaining the slightest hint of crimson. "Have I done anything to gain your distrust?"

She looked away, a light blush creeping up her neck and face. She wasn't about to admit anything to him. Not in the least.

"I haven't, therefore you have no reason to distrust me?" He ground out, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides and his eyes closed so that she couldn't see the crimson hue that they took on whenever he had been angered. "Therefore you can trust me to drop you a distance from you village and walk besides you."

"Why would you walk besides me?" She asked incredulously.

He snorted. "You have the scent of the inu youkai on you. If you were found by the neko youkai and had that scent, they would kill you, because their leader would likely know that my scent was on you and would kill you for helping me, since you smell like a healer."

Izayoi looked at him with confused eyes. "How is that in any way possible? I thought that I smelled like a ninque?" She used the words that she had heard the inu lord's son mutter the night previous. "I smell like a useless, weak, ninque, so why would they attack me?"

He sighed again. "Because you helped me and the inu youkai are one of the biggest enemies of the neko youkai. Because you helped us, they will be after you do that you won't help us again by helping healing our wounds. Because of that, you are in danger and will be sought out by them. That is why I need to accompany you."

She turned her head away from him, stubborn to the end. "Only because you have to, will I let you. And I will agree to you dropping me some distance from my village."

Inutaisho almost sighed in relief, but held it back. Izayoi gave a small yip of surprise as he stood behind her and lifted her over his head and onto his back, leaping into the air before she could even get her hands on his shoulders for support. Scowling fiercely, she gripped the spikes on his shoulders, since said limbs were too wide for her hands to grasp on to. Still in the air, he looped his arms around her legs, being as careful as he could with his claws and the spikes on his bone vambraces.

Slowly opening her eyes, she looked over his shoulder, watching as the clouds, trees, and pastures flew by her sight in a colorful blur. She hadn't even realized how far they had gone in so short a period of time. She watched as the scenery flashed by her. Even from the remaining blur, Izayoi watched as the farmers tended the rice fields and women tended to the children. A few of the women with children appeared to be her age or younger. The thought really made her feel old, and that she should be having a family about now.

Inutaisho wasn't watching the passing scenery at all. His concentration was mainly in the course that they were picking through the country side.

**  
  
[A/N]  
**hello people. i am sooo sry that i haven't updated this in a while. T-T plot bunnies are completely out of energy lately. no caffeine anywhere around my house. that includes whats in my daily dose of tea. anyway, hope you like this chapter. please review. its may be the caffeine that the plot bunnies need.


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